| Hedeoma pulegioides | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Asterids |
| Order: | Lamiales |
| Family: | Lamiaceae |
| Genus: | Hedeoma |
| Species: | H. pulegioides |
| Binomial name | |
| Hedeoma pulegioides (L.) Pers. |
|
Hedeoma pulegioides (American pennyroyal, or American false pennyroyal[1]) is a species of Hedeoma native to eastern North America, from Nova Scotia and southern Ontario west to Minnesota and South Dakota, and south to northern Georgia and Arkansas.[2]
It is a low-growing, strongly aromatic herbaceous annual plant from 15–30 cm tall, with a slender erect much-branched, somewhat hairy and square stem. The leaves are small, thin, and rather narrow, with a strong mintlike odor and pungent taste. The flowers are pale blue, hermaphroditic, produced in small clusters; it flowers from mid to late summer.[3]
Other names are mock pennyroyal, squaw mint, tickweed, stinking balm, mosquito plant, American falsepennyroyal, and American false pennyroyal.[4][3]
The name pulegioides is derived from the Latin pulegium and oides, and means "like pennyroyal".[5] Hedeoma pulegiodes is also known by the synonyms Melissa pulegioides L. (basionym), Cunila pulegioides (L.) L., and Ziziphora pulegioides (L.) Desf.[1][6]
The term "Pennyroyal" (or Pennyrile, from a dialectal pronunciation) is also used to describe a geographic province of western Kentucky, the Pennyroyal Plateau, where H. pulegioides grew in profusion sufficient to lend its name to the whole area.